NTC signs Telenor for Online Services

The National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) and Telenor Pakistan have signed an agreement for provision of telecom services to NTC customers across Pakistan, through their mobile network. Under the agreement between NTC and Telenor, Telenor will provide services like internet dongles, mobile handsets and SIM cards to provide 3G/4G GSM and data services in areas where NTC infrastructure is not available. The signing ceremony was attended by Brig (r) Viqar Rashid Khan, MD NTC, and Irfan Wahab, CEO Telenor Pakistan. NTC is the official IT and telecom service provider for the Government of Pakistan and has been granted Integrated LDI License to provide ICT services to armed forces, defense projects, federal government, and provincial governments or as the federal government may determine. Telenor Pakistan has reported a subscriber base of over 36 million, making it Pakistan’s second largest mobile operator. It is the first operator in Pakistan to establish a Cloud Based National Data Center for the public sector. The corporation has witnessed unprecedented financial growth of 359 percent during 2015-16 and an increase in broadband subscriber base by 36 percent. It has extended its services from 54 districts and cities to 87 including underdeveloped districts in Sindh and Baluchistan.  The number of exchanges were increased from 139 (in 2012- 13) to 260 in 2016, thereby overall 87% increase. It utilized 99 percent of its ADP budget in FY 2016-17. Also, NTC is the first to use M2M and P2P networks for extending fixed lines and data connectivity. NTC has already resumed the international gateway operations. Large scale Wide Area Networks of CDNS, Election Commission, State Bank, AGP and other strategic organizations have been established. Pertinent to mention that, NTC has also signed a Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA) with Microsoft to provide SaaS in the country through its cloud based National Data Centre. NTC is pursuing strategic partnership with private operators in the telecom industry to bring new services for its subscribers. The Chairman said NTC is the first in the country to introduce new apps like Go-Smart for its customers and have extended 3G/4G Mobile data connectivity to its subscribers under public private partnership. MD NTC further briefed about the future plans and projects of NTC. These include establishment of strategically vital submarine cable landing station at Gwadar as an alternate route to existing network. NTC further envisions expanding its network to all districts of Pakistan within the next 3 to 4 years.